Driving mechanism for washing machines



I. F. I AIVIB.

DRIVING MPCHA'NISM FOR WASHING MACHINES.

APPLICATION HLED ocr. 20, 1920.

IAMAW. Patented May I6, w22; @SHEETS-SHEET l.

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INI/Emmi? Jl .Ff LAM J. F. LAMB.

DRIVING MECHANISM FOR WASHING MACHINES.

APPIIcATIoN FILED ocT. 20. 1920.

L41 $.79. Patented; May 169 i922.

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J. F. LAMB.

DRIVING IVI'ECHANISM FOR WASHING MACHINES.

APPllcATloN FILED ocr, 20, 1920.

L41 6,479., Patented May 16, 1922.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

, nvm/roh1 JELAMB naar srs JOSEPH F.

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LAMB, OF NEW BRITAIN', CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR TO- LANDEBS, FMRY & :l OF NEW BRITAIN, CONNECTICUT, A CORPORATION F CONNECTICUT.

DRIVING MECHANISM FOR WASHING MACHINES.

Lamme.

Specication of Letters Patent.

Patented May 16, 1922.

Application led October 20, 1920.' Serial No. 418,240.

To all whom t may concern.

Be it known that JOSEPH F. LAMB, a citizen of the United States, residing at city of New Britain, county of Hartford, State of Connecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Driving Mech-4 anism for `Washing Machines, of which'y the following is a full, clear, and exact descri tion.

y invention relates to driving mechanisms .that are particularly adapted for washing machines and has for its object to produce a new and improved compact means -'for securing a small number of complete revolutions of a reversing washing machine cylinder between reversals; to reduce the size and number of the gears for securing Ia given reduction of the shaft carrying the reversing cams; to provide means for the quick opening of the reversing clutch so as to yavoid the stripping of the surfaces of its clutch teeth; to make the high speed gearing of a washing machine a self-contained and separable structure; to provide a gear housing for the high speed gearing adapted` to contain liquid lubricant 'sufficient to partially submerge the shafting of said gearing; to reduce the frequency of necessary'lubrication of the high speed shafts; to reduce the noise of the reversing mechanism; to confine the high speed shafts of the machine to the lower part thereof and to lower the center of gravity of the Imachine as a whole by the location of the high speed gearing and its motor; ,to support the high speed gearing from below and provide a suitablerip-pan therefor.I i y v The following is a description of an embodiment of my invention, reference being had to' the accompanying drawings, in

Fig. 1 shows an end elevation of a Washing machine embodying my invention;

' Fig. 2 shows a side elevation of the same; Fig. 3 is a plan View of the reduction gearing ofthe .washingfmachine andthe casing therefor;

kFig. 4 1s a side elevation of the casing Fig. 7 is a sectional view on the line 7-7,

Fig. 3.

eferring more particularly to the drawings, 1 is a framework having rectangular sides and top and supportin side and cross bars 2, 2. 3 is the usual tug having within it a reversing washing cylinder 4. 5 is a vertical shaft geared to the washing cylinder for actuating the same. 6 is a vertical shaft for operating the wringermechanism 7. lBelow the tub is an electric motor 8 mounted upon a wooden base l9, which is supported by 'certain of the bars 2, 2. `10 is a gear casing supported by bars 2, 2 and secured thereto by screws 11. This casing is provided with a cover made in two-parts v1 2, 12 secured thereto. This casing and cover constitute a housing completely enclosing the greater part of the gearing of the washing machine. This gearing consists of a small pinion 13 mounted upon a shaft driven by the motor 8, this shaft being mounted in a bushing 14 held in'place by a set-screw l5 'and having its end protruding through the side of the casing so as to enter a coupling 16. The interior of the casing is divided by a partition 17, which is integral with the sides and bottom of the casing, which casing constitutes a single casting having eX- ternal sides 18 and 19 which form supports for the shaft-journals. The pinion 13 meshes with a large gear 20, which is rigidly mounted upon a shaft-21 on which is also rigidly mounted a small pinion 22. `The ends of this shaft 21 are carried by bushings 28, 23 which\are v supported in the Walls 17 and 19 respectively and secured therein by set-screws. The pinionl 22 meshes with a ear 24 rigidly mounted on a shaft 25. This shaft is journaled in bushings 26, 26 carried by the walls 17 and 18 respectively. Upon the opposite sides of the wall 17 from the gear 24 is the driving member 27 of a Geneva movement, and looselyl mounted upon the shaft 25 are-beveled gears 28, 28"having clutch teeth 29, 29 with which similar clutch faces upon a. sliding clutch member 30 alternately engage. This sliding clutch member 30 i's splined to the shaft 25 so as to rotate therewith. The clutch member 30 is' actuated by a lever 31, whose lower end is pivoted at 32 to a bearing secured tothe base of the casing. This lever-is provided with an anti-friction pro- `jection 33 which is engaged alternately bytwo cams 34, 34 upon a shaft 35 so as to be moved thereby in one direction or` the other beyond its dead center. The cams 34, 34 are double-faced so that the lever 31 is shifted in the manner described irrespective of the direction of revolution of the shaft 35. 0n the shaft 35 is mounted a second member 36 of the Geneva movement, which member is actuated by the roller 37 of the driving member 27 of the Geneva movement. This shaft 35 hasone end carried by a bushing 38 secured in the wall 18 of the casing and is, at a point between the cam 34 and the driven member 36 of the Geneva movement, supported by a journal supported in an upwardly extending projection 39, which is integral with the bottom of the casing.

The upper end of the lever 31 is provided with a bearing block 40 pivoted thereto, in which moves a pin 41 whose upper spherical end is movably held against an abutment 42 secured by bolts 43 to the' upper end of the projection 39. This pin 41 is surrounded by a compression spring 44, which, after the lever 31 has been thrown beyond its dead center, compels the lever toy complete its throw so as to cause the clutch member 30 to make engagement with one or the other of the gears 28, 28 according to its direction of throw. The gears 28 and 28" are in constant mesh with a double-faced beveled gear 45, which is rigidly connected to a rotatable shaft 46 journaled in a bushing 47 carried by one of the end wallslof the casing and secured thereto by a set-screw 48, as shown in Fig. 7. Meshing with the outer face of the double-faced gear45 is a beveled gear 49 rigidly connected to the vertical shaft 50, which is journaled in a bushing 5'1 supported by the cover 12. The lower end of this shaft 50 is removably held within a bearing in the casing 10 directly.` above the bushing 47. The shaft 50 is surrounded by a ring 52 secured thereto by a set-screw 53 so that when the cover 12 is removed the shaft 50, together with the beveled gear 49, is removed therewith.

The top of the casing extends well above the horizontal shafts hereinbefore referred to and the bushings therefor, and the casing is adapted to contain liquid lubricant in sufficient quantity to substantially submerge said horizontal shafts and also said clutch member 30.

Tn order to permit the assembling of the parts, the outer walls of the casing are provided with openings-in alinement with one end of each horizontal shaft. which openings are closed. by liquid-tight closures 54, preferably in the form of sheet steel plugs, as shown in section in lFig. 3.

The bearing for' the shaft of the pinion 13 is provided with a packing gland 55 whichY is held compressed in the bushing 14 by the ange 56 and the ring 57 secured to said of the pinion 13.

11,41 deze shaft by a set-screw, as shown in lFig. 3. The casing is thus made liquid tight so that there is practically no danger of leakage even' if the oil therein is suflicient to reach to near the top of the casing. The result is that the gears and pinions above described may be submerged in oil up to their points of engagement, insuring adequate lubrication which lasts for a long time and which also practically eliminates the noise due to the operation of the gearing.

The clutch faces of the gears 28 and 28" and the clutch member 30 may also be kept immersed in oil, with the result that the noise due to the shifting ofthe clutch member 30 and its engagement with one or the other of the clutch faces 29 and 29 is greatly reduced and ractically eliminated.

The use of t eGeneva movement composed of the parts 27 and 36 results in a very great reduction taking place between the shaft 25 and the shaft 35, the reduction in the present instance being twelve to one. lit further re# sults in a relatively high speed for the shaft 35 when it is in motion, with the result that the cams 34, 34 are given a quick movement when acting and thus withdraw the clutch member 30 from the teeth 29, 29 with a quick movement, greatly reducing the danger of stripping the faces of those teeth during the period when disengagement is taking place. Furthermore, the cams 34 and `34" are so timed that a complete throw of the lever 31 takes place during a single one of the intermittentmovements of the cams 34, 34', so that not only is the clutch 30 shifted quickly, but whenever its movement is started it is immediately completed.

The vertical shaft 50 is coupled to the l shaft 5, which, as shown in lFig. 1, operates the cylinder 4 withinl the tub. lin orlgler to operate the shaft 6 of the wringer, provide the casing with a vertical shaft 58, whose lower'end is journaled in a bushing 59, which is inserted through an opening in the bottom of the casing shown by a closure 60 similar to the closures 54. This ,shaft 58 carries a beveled gear 61, which is driven by a beveled gear 62, mounted on a shaft 63, which carries a pinion 64 engaging with the gear 24. l This shaft 63 is journaled in a bushing 65 which is carried by an upward projection 66 integral with the bottom and one side of the casing and is secured therein by a set-screw 67. The movement therefore is transmitted from the pinion 13 to the shaft 58 through a'direct train of gearing-this movement being more rapid than a movement of the shaft 25 but very 125' materially Ireduced from that of the shaft The shaft 63 is inserted through an opening in the side wall of the casing closed by a closure 68, similar to the closure 54. l

The cover members 12, 12- are provided Lamme with screw plugs 69, 69 located above the two compartments of the casing through which oil can be introduced. The cover is provided with two upwardly extending hollow porttions 70 and 71, housing the abutment 42 and the upper portion of the gear 20 respectively, and 1s provided with downwardly extending flanges 72, 72 with the result that the cover will contain and hold considerable oil when inverted, as sometimes happens when machines are being transported. Inasmuch as, however, at such times the shafts 50 and 58 are not in rotation, there is little danger of oil leaking out at the points where those shafts enter.

. It is to be noted that the horizontal shafts of the machine from the shaft of the pinion 13 to and including the shafts 25 and 63 are all parallel and in substantially the same horizontal'plane, and that the vertical shafts are in a plane which is substantially parallel to parallel planes passing through the axes of those horizontal shafts. It is further to be noted that a vertical projection of` the framework of the machine falls outside all of the gearing and the motor for driving the same, and that the location of the casing with its gearing and the motor for driving the same at the bottom of the frame brings the center of gravity well toward the bottom and well toward the medial vertical axis of the machine. The result of this is that the machine is vvery steady and the danger of its tip-ping when the wringer 7 is swung outward is eliminated. The rotation of the motor almost directly under the central axis of the tub and on the other side of the frame from the wringer support contributes very largely to this result.

lWith the apparatus shown the number of revolutions between reversals of the washing cylinder is, by the use of a compact and selfcontained gearing reduced to two revolutions. This results in preventing the balling of the clothes, which occurs when there is a large number of revolutions between reversals. Furthermore, all the gearing which is of high speed and requires frequent lubrication is located in the self-contained casing, so that little lubricant has to be applied to any bearings in the walls of the tub adjacent to the axes of the washing cylinder, thus eliminating the danger of having lubricant leak into'the tub as is the case where a large supply of lubricant is necessary adjacent to the axis of the cylinder.4 Furthermore, in the arrangement above described, the high speed shafts where wearing is likely to occur are all removed from adjacent to the tub walls so that the necessary wearing of the high speed shafts and their journals can not result in increasing the danger of vleakage of oil into the tub.

count of the dislodgment of one of the closures, such as 54, or from spilling of oil when introducing it through the openings controlled by the plugs 69, 69, I provide a drip-pan 73, which extends completely beneath the casing l0 and lies between the legs of the casing and the bars 2, 2.

It is also to be noted that the member 36 of the Geneva movement of the gears 13, 20 and 22`lie on the same side of the shaft 25 and together with the shaft 25 form some sort of a U-shaped arrangement, while, considering the gearing as a whole, the arrangement is irl-shaped, the shaft 25 constituting the crossbar of the H, both of which ar- 4of a power-,driven shaft, a countershaft driven thereby, a Geneva movement driven by said countershaft, reversing mechanism comprising a shiftable clutch member, and cams intermittently driven by said Geneva movement for shifting said clutch member.

2. In a. washing machine, the combination of a powerdriven shaft, a countershaft driven thereby, a Geneva movement driven by said countershaft. reversing mechanism comprising a shiftable clutch member,and cams intermittently driven by said Geneva movement for shifting said clutch member. said cams being so timed that any throw of said member by said cams is completed during a lsingle movement of the intermittently moving member of said Geneva movement.

3. A shaft having two beveled gears loosely mounted thereon and provided with opposing clutch faces, a clutch member mounted on said shaft between the clutch faces on said bev'eled gears, a third gear en gaging both of' said beveled gears, a lever for shifting said clutch member, a shaft parallel to 4said first mentioned shaft, two cams on said second shaft for actuating saidl lever, and a Geneva movement, the driving member of which is fast on said first shaft and the driven member of which is fast on said second shaft.

4. A shaft having two beveled gears loosely mounted thereon and provided with rangements contribute to the compactness of opposing clutch faces, a clutch member mounted on said shaft between the clutch faces on said beveled gears, a third gear engaging both of said beveled gears and adapted to drive a washing cylinder, a lever for shifting said clutch member, a.v shaft parallel to vsaid first mentioned shaft, two cams on said second shaft for shifting said lever alternately in opposite directions, a Geneva movement, the driving member of which .is on said first shaft and the driven member on said second shaft, a large gear on said first shaft, a third shaft, and a small gear on said third shaftmeshing with said large gear and driving the same.

5. A. shaft having two beveled gears loosely mounted thereon and provided with opposing clutch faces, a clutch member mounted on said shaft be-tween the clutch faces on said beveled gears, a third gear engaging both of said beveled gears and adapted to drive a washing cylinder, a lever for shifting said clutch member, a shaft parallel to said first mentioned shaft, two cams on said second shaft, a Geneva movement, the driving member of 'which is on said first shaft and the driven member on said second shaft, a large gear on said first shaft, a third shaft, a small gear on said third shaft meshing with said large gear and driving the same, a fourth shaft,v a small gear on said fourth shaft driven by said large gear, a vertical shaft and engaging beveled gears on said fourth and vertical shafts, said vertical shaft being adapted to drive a wringer.

6. A horizontal shaft having two beveled gears loosely mounted thereon and provided with opposing clutch faces, a clutch member mounted on said shaft between the clutch faces on said beveled gears, a third gear engaging both of said beveled gears and adapted to drive a washing cylinder, a lever for shifting said clutch member, a horizontal shaft parallel to said first mentioned shaft, two cams on said second shaft,4 a Geneva movement, the driving member of'which is on said first shaft and the driven member on said second shaft, a large gear on said first shaft, a third horizontal shaft, a small' gear on said thi-rd shaft meshing with said large gear and driving the same, a fourth horizontal shaft, a small gear on said fourth shaft driven'by said large gear, a vertical vshaft and engaging beveled gears on said fourth and vertical shafts, and means for driving Said large gear, said fourth shaft being adapted to drive a wringer, all of said shafts being in planes parallel to one another. l

7. A shaft' having two ybeveled gears loosely mounted thereon and provided with opposing clutch faces, a clutch member mounted onx said shaft between the clutch faces on said beveled gears, a third gear engaging both of saidbeveled gears and adapted to drive a washing cylinder, a shaft parallel to said first mentioned shaft, two cams on said second shaftA for actuating said clutch member, a Geneva movement, the driving member of which is on said first shaft and the driven member on said second shaft and imparts a quick motion to said cams and clutch member, and a liquid-tight casing carrying bearings for said shafts and gearing, the top of said casing rising above infame said shafts and adapted to contain suicient oil to submerge said clutch member.

8. rllhe combination of a casing, a shaft mounted therein, two beveled gears loosely mounted thereon and providedwith clutch surfabes, a gear in constant mesh with said beveled gears, a clutch carried by said shaft, a clutch lever for actuating said clutch member, a spring for completing the throw of said clutch lever, cam surfaces acting to move said clutch lever alternately in opposite directions beyond its dead center, cam actuating means consisting of a Geneva movement, the driving member of which is mounted on said shaft and the drivenmember of which is rigidly connected to said cam, and a vertical shaft geared to the gear engaging said two beveled gears, said casing belng adapted to contain sufficient oil to substantially submerge said clutch member.

9. The combination of a casing, a hori zontal shaft mounted therein, a motor for driving said shaft, reducing gearing between said motor and said shaft, reversing mechanism actuated by said shaft, said shaft and the axes of said reducing gearing and motor being parallel to one another and mounted thereon and Aprovided with clutchsurfaces, a clutch member mounted between said gears, a thlrd gear engaging said gears, a second shaft parallel to said first shaft,

shifting cams mounted on said second Shaft, v

a clutch lever actuated alternately in opposite relations by said cams, a gear upon said first shaft, a shaft ap roximately in alinement with said secon shaft and carrying reducing earing engaging the gear upon said first siaft, a-shaft for driving said reducmg gearlng, a fourth shaft having a gear thereon engagingthev driving gear on said first shaft, and two upright shafts one shaft geared to said last mentioned shaft andthe other shaft ared to the gear engaging said two beve ed gears respectively, and a cover for said casing through which said two vertical shafts pass.

1l. 'llhe combination of a casing, a horizontal shaft mounted therein, two beveled gears loosely mountedthereon and provided with clutch surfaces, a gearv in constant mesh .with said beveled ears, a clutch member carried by said sha t, a spring for completing the throw of. said clutch member, a horizontal shaft carrying cams acting to move said clutch member alternately in opposite directions beyond its dead center,

cam actuating means consisting of .a Geneva movement, the drlving member of whlch 1s mounted on said shaft and the driven member of which is rigidly connected to said cam shaft, a vertical shaft geared to the gear engaging said two beveled gears, another gear mounted on said shaft, a motor for driving said shaft through said other gear, and reducing gearing between said motor and said other gear, said casing having two compartments, one of which contains said l other gear and reducing gearing, the otherv third gear in constant mesh with said two beveled gears, a clutch member on said shaft between said two beveled gears, a second shaft parallel to said first shaft, cams on said second shaft for throwing said clutch member first in one direction and then in the other, means mounted on said two shafts for imparting to said second shaft an intermittent rotary movement, and means for rotating said first shaft continuously, said cams being so timed as to effect the throwing of said clutch member out of engage'- ment with the clutch surface of one of the gears during a single movement ofsaidcam shaft. A

13. The combination of a shaft, two beveled gears provided with opposing clutch surfaces and looselyI mounted thereon, a third gear in constant mesh with said two beveled gears, a clutch member on said shaft between said two beveled gears, a second shaft parallel to said first shaft, cams-on said second shaft foi` throwing said clutch member first in one direction and then in the other, means mounted on said two shafts for imparting to said second shaft an intermittent rotary movement, means for rotating said lfirst shaft continuously, said casing being adapted to contain oil sufficient to .submerge said shafts, and a cover for said casing having cavities adapted to receive and contain oil when said casing and cover is inverted.

14. The combination of a shaft, twov beveled gears provided with opposing clutch surfaces and loosely mounted thereon, a third gear in constantmesh with said two beveled gears, a clutch member on said shaft between said two beveled gears, a second shaft parallel to said'frstshaftcams on said second shaft for throwing said clutch member first in one direction and then in the other, means mounted on said two shafts for imparting to said second shaft an intermittent rotary movement, means for rotating said first shaft continuousl said casing being adapted to containoil su cient lto subl merge said shafts a cover for-said casing having cavities adapted when inverted to receive and contain oil, a vertical shaft geared to the gear engaging said two beveled gears and carried by said cover so as v to be removable therewith.

JOSEPH F. 3 

